This research is designed to investigate possible mechanisms involved in the relationship observed in a previous study between maternal iron deficiency during gestation and lactation and hyperlipidemia in offspring in rats. In addition it will attempt to assess the long term effect of neonatal iron deficiency on lipid metabolism in the developing young. This research has important implications in human nutrition where there is increasing concern over the long range effect of early feeding on the etiology of degenerative diseases in the developing and mature organism. From a public health standpoint a role of iron in lipid metabolism has important implications since iron deficiency is common in pregnant women and atherosclerosis, in which elevated lipid levels are identified as risk factors, is a leading cause of death. The proposed research will involve feeding pregnant and lactating rats a control, an iron-deficient and two low iron level diets and assessing blood levels of lipids, nature of lipids and trace elements in milk, liver levels of lipid, iron, copper and zinc and lipoprotein lipase activity in offspring to help identify the possible sites and mechanisms of interactions between iron and lipid metabolism in the development of young. A subsequent phase of the project will investigate the effect of early iron deficiency on serum lipid levels in development of young until maturity at 6 months.